Ryan Walters includes Bible instruction in new social studies standards for school districts

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Tuesday what he called a complete overhaul of Oklahoma’s social studies standards for students.

In a news release, Walters, a Republican, said he wanted to empower schools to “teach from primary sources,” including the Bible, and that his new standards would “inspire in students a love of country and a proper understanding of the American founding.”

The new standards, Walters said, would be developed by a new "Executive Review Committee" to ensure “that social studies reflect accuracy and not political slanted viewpoints.”He said members of that committee would include the co-founder of the conservative nonprofit PragerU, a representative from the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the president of another conservative group, the Heritage Foundation. No Oklahoma public-school teacher or administrator was listed as being on the committee.

Democrats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives immediately pounced on Walters' proposal.

More:Why Oklahoma teachers, school districts not interested in PragerU's cartoon version of history

“The latest atrocity from OSDE is an affront to the Oklahoma educators who have always developed and refined our social studies standards,” said Rep. John Waldron, of Tulsa, who serves on the House Education Committee. “This ‘carpetbagger curriculum’ would be made up from whole cloth by a panel of out-of-state so-called experts, and would represent a dangerous politicization of our academic process. Simply put, this is un-American and un-Oklahoman.”

Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, of Norman, a former educator, said Walters' ideas would not address the needs of Oklahoma children and parents.

“We already know that the state superintendent doesn’t care about the children and parents of Oklahoma; he only cares for himself and his next appearance on far-right news media,” Rosecrants said. “His enlisting of out-of-state extremists behind Project 2025 to revamp our own Oklahoma state standards in social studies only further proves this. The state superintendent says Oklahomans want to erase the line between church and state, but that is simply not true. Oklahomans are disgusted by his blatant disregard of the Constitution.”

Ryan Walters sparked backlash earlier over ordering school districts to teach the Bible

Walters had announced his intention to make teaching the Bible in Oklahoma a requirement during a State Board of Education meeting on June 27. That day, he also sent a letter to state school districts ordering them to incorporate the Bible “as an instructional support into the curriculum" for fifth through 12th grades, citing its importance as a historical document.“Adherence to this mandate is compulsory,” Walters’ letter read. “Further instructions for monitoring and reporting on this implementation for the 2024/25 school year will be forthcoming. Immediate and strict compliance is expected.”In ordering instruction on the Bible, Walters cited broad authority under Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which governs state education. The law reads, in part, “School districts shall exclusively determine the instruction, curriculum, reading lists and instructional materials and textbooks, subject to any applicable provisions or requirements as set forth in law, to be used in meeting the subject matter standards. School districts may, at their discretion, adopt supplementary student assessments which are in addition to the statewide student assessments.”

Opinion:Letters: Do Oklahomans want schools teaching the Bible in classrooms?

Walters said his directive “is in alignment” with state educational standards approved in May 2019. That’s when the Oklahoma State Department of Education updated its social studies standards under then-state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. Those are the standards Walters now wants to update.

According to the attorney general, Oklahoma law already allows for individual school districts to use the Bible in classrooms. However, the Center for Education Law, the legal group that successfully challenged Walters' assertion that he could choose books for local school libraries, has said the decision whether or not to use the Bible, lies with local school boards, not the state Education Department.

“The legislature requires school districts to develop and implement curriculum, courses and instruction," the Center said in a memorandum sent Monday to Oklahoma district school superintendents. "Further, nothing in the School Code calls for, or allows, the State Board of Education to require specific textbooks.”The legal firm also noted it believes Walters did not follow the state’s Administrative Procedures Act in issuing his directive concerning Bible teaching in classrooms. The APA governs actions of state agencies and requires administrative rules to be authorized by a law and passed by the agency’s governing board. The Center for Education Law maintains the Oklahoma Supreme Court, in its decision in Edmond’s lawsuit, “held unanimously that (the state Board of Education) may not exercise power unless the legislature has specifically delegated it that authority.”In Walters’ Tuesday announcement, he said the new standards he was proposing would be “more in line with a classical learning model.” According to the Classical Academic Press, classical education “is a long tradition of education that has emphasized the seeking after of truth, goodness, and beauty and the study of the liberal arts and the great books.” It defines the “liberal arts” as grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. “Oklahomans ― citizens, parents, and business leaders alike — are disgusted with the lack of civic knowledge, love for our country, and historical education among our young people,” Walters said in a statement. “It is crystal clear that we need to return to more rigorous social studies standards that emphasize the unique and exceptional nature of the American republic, promote a proper understanding of the nation’s founding, and instill pride in our civic traditions and Oklahoma heritage.”

Who will be on Ryan Walters' review committee?

Walters’ choices for the “Executive Review Committee” announced Tuesday included Dennis Prager, who co-founded "PragerU," a conservative nonprofit that produces videos for schoolchildren meant to counter what it calls “the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.” Walters announced a partnership with PragerU last September.

Other members will include Robert Pondiscio, a senior fellow at American Enterprise Institute; Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation; former Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Everett Piper; and David Goodwin, the president of the Association of Classical Christian Schools.

Jena Nelson, a former state teacher of the year who lost to Walters in the 2022 election for the state superintendent's post, said on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Walters' ideas for rewriting the state's social studies standards won't work.

"This will be disastrous," Nelson wrote. "Our standards have been written by Oklahoma educators, not the unions as Walters says. In fact he was on the last standards committee. This is nothing more than an attempt to whitewash our history books with Christian Nationalism and propaganda."